Top priest of Moscow-backed church accused of leaking Ukrainian military checkpoints to Russia.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has accused Metropolitan Arsenii (Ihor Yakovenko), an influential cleric of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, of revealing locations of Ukrainian military checkpoints in the Kramatorsk district of Donetsk region to Russian forces.

The SBU published a photograph showing Arsenii together with security service officers.

Arsenii with security service officers. Photo: Security Service of Ukraine

“This happened during his liturgy service. The vicar named the addresses of Ukrainian military checkpoints out loud to parishioners while being recorded on video. This video was later published online,” the statement says.

According to sources of the Ukrainian BBC service in the SBU, these events took place in the autumn of 2023.

The SBU states that even before the Russian invasion, Arsenii expressed pro-Kremlin narratives, referring to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine as a “civil conflict.” He has now been charged with disseminating information about Ukrainian military forces’ locations, an offense punishable by up to 8 years in prison.

The issue of pre-trial restrictive measures is being considered, the SBU states.

The cliric has not yet commented on these accusations.

Arsenii, a Russian national, heads the historic Svyatogorsk Lavra monastery in Donetsk Oblast, one of Ukraine’s major Orthodox monasteries. The monastery belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), long seen as a conduit for Russian destabilizing influence in Ukraine despite a nominal split from the Russian Orthodox Church after the 2022 invasion.

While the UOC-MP claims separation from Moscow, many of its clergy still spread anti-Ukrainian propaganda and some have allegedly acted as Russian saboteurs, spotters, and intelligence agents during the war. The church has a history of pro-Russian activities at various levels.

Read more:

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